Diesel won't fire with ether

[Lajaw]

JD 3020 won't start or even fire with ether sprayed directly into intake manifold. I lost the key to this tractor, but found another that will turn to crank. Is the key the problem? If not, why won't it fire with starter fluid? Is there a safety cutoff on this 1969 3020 that I'm not aware of? I have power to the injector pump.

 

[johns48jdb]

my first thought was the timing is off, but i would have thought it would do something with the ether sprayed into it. not familiar with your tractor so not much help, but are you sure the injector pump is working. crack a nut loose going to the injectors and see if you can get some fluid to come out when you turn it over. did you run it out of fuel? when is the last time the filters were changed?

 

[Anonymous-0]

If it has anywhere near normal compression it should ignite ether. There may be a key cutout for the injection pump but not for the valves I don't think at least I never heard of such a thing.

 

[Glen D Anderson]

Define "sprayed directly into the intake manifold"...............

There must be something restricting the intake.............any diesel will fire on ether, providing it"s actually entering the combustion chamber.............the tractor isn"t equipped with an aftermarket positive air shut-off by chance??

Smoke from the exhaust while cranking?

 

[Jake Winn]

Pull the rocker arm cover and make sure the valve train is working properly. Does it crank over smooth and even? How much ether are you spraying into it? Even a decent sniff should make it fire a bit. If not, there may be a more serious problem. Might be time to take it to a dealer or service shop.

 

[Lajaw]

Figured out the problem. The plunger on the kill switch on the injector was bad. It wouldn't open up. And I found out that there has to be some diesel wash on the walls of the cylinders for ether to work. We took out the plunger, and now she runs. Thanks to all that replied!